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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27005869">Team</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwj/pseuds/dwj'>dwj</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stargate SG-1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Episode: s01e04 Emancipation, F/M, Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:20:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,538</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27005869</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwj/pseuds/dwj</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for Whumptober day 14, prompt: Branding. Post 1x04 Emancipation TW: very brief mention of self harm thoughts</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Whumptober</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Team</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello! so this was written for day 14 of whumptober, its set during the season one episode 'Emancipation' and mainly surrounds Sam's thoughts after her kidnapping and also explores what else might have happened to her during her time in Turghans captivity.</p>
<p>this is the first time ive tried my hand at writing Jack, Sam/Jack are my otp but ive always had trouble getting his character down so I hope I did him justice here. as always, id love to know your thoughts! thanks!</p>
<p>PLEASE NOTE: I have included a brief trigger warning for thoughts of self harm, its a very small part but I wanted to mention it to be on the safe side.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b> <em>#14 Branding - Stargate SG1 - Sam/Jack</em> </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sam had agreed to take the first watch, convinced she wouldn't have been able to sleep even if she tried. Despite all of her training and try as she might to hide it from the Colonel and the others, she had been terrified after being kidnapped. She only had to get through one more night on this planet before they could head back to the stargate and finally home. As a woman in the military and more often than not as a woman in general, she had come to understand the risks that her gender made her more privy to, not that it made the impact of said experiences any lesser.</p>
<p>She was sat by the fire they had started before setting up camp for the night, it provided enough heat to ward of the slight chill in the air and also lit up the general vicinity. Reaching down to the ground if front of her for a stick to stoke the fire she winced as the sleeve of her BDU jacket rubbed against her wrist. Pulling her hand back, she paused for a moment before slowly pulling back the cuff to reveal a blistering wound that she was sure would scar. That had been his intention, Turghan's, he'd not had the chance to <em>partake in his newest purchase, </em>the sheer thought of which still made her stomach turn, but he had left her with something that would serve as a permanent reminder of what she had been through, of what she had <em>almost</em> been through. He had branded her like some sort of animal, wanted her to feel as such.</p>
<p>A tear dropped onto her sleeve before she even had time to process the emotion, she knew the things Turghan had said to her were irrelevant and in the grand scheme of things she also knew she had got off relatively unscathed considering what he'd had in store for her had the others not come for her when they had. None of this worked to shake the feeling she had however, the feeling that by leaving behind his mark on her he had in turn taken something from her too.</p>
<p>More tears began to fall and she chanced a glance behind her to make sure the rest of her team and Moughal were still asleep. Teal'c was partaking in his own form of sleep and like the others appeared to be resting.</p>
<p>On top of the pain she still felt in her wrist, her wound itched and she wanted nothing more than to scratch it, to keep scratching it with hope that if she scratched it long enough, deep enough, she could deform the mark he had left on her. No one else would even know what it symbolised, aside from the rest of SG1 and Janet who would find out during her medical examination when they returned home, and probably the general too considering she would have to include this in her report detailing what had happened during their trip. She would know though, Sam would have the reminder for the rest of her life, she would be stuck with the feeling that in some sick and twisted way, at least in the minds of certain others, she was <em>owned.</em> Would that effect how the others saw her? In the short time she had been a part of SG1, Sam had gone above and beyond to try and prove herself worthy of the place she had been given on the flagship team but this trip had been nothing short of a disaster, at least where she was concerned.</p>
<p>Would the Colonel still want her on his team? He'd been less than thrilled about her joining in the first place, claiming it was more about his dislike for scientists than her being a woman, however she couldn't quell the feeling that maybe his reasoning would now change given what had happened and it would give him a viable excuse to swap her out for another, perhaps one of his old <em>male</em> pals.</p>
<p>If she remained, they would surely move past the events that had transpired, at least professionally, but could she? The Colonel didn't seem like the sort of man to offer pity and in the short time she had known Teal'c she knew he wasn't one for saying much at all. Then there was Doctor Jackson, he was a sweet man who carried enough of his own burdens but seemed the sort to always have room to taken on those of others too, would she have to deal with his sympathetic stares every time he saw her scar and remembered what had happened?</p>
<p>Sam knew that she would have more to prove now than ever, the Colonel needed to know that despite what had happened to her and despite what could happen to her in the future she still wished to be apart of SG1. Most importantly though, she had to make him see that despite the increased risks posed by having her on his team, she was worth it.</p>
<p>She had become lost in her own thoughts and was vaguely aware of the tears now streaming down her cheeks, with a staggered breath she used her other sleeve to wipe her eyes, hoping to regain control of her emotions before the others woke up or before anyone stumbled upon their camp.</p>
<p>"Carter?"</p>
<p>His voice, laced with sleep and a touch of concern called out from behind her. Instinctually she yanked the sleeve back down over her wrist and barely contained a hiss of pain as the material grazed her fresh wound. She took a moment to compose herself and he appeared to be giving her the time to do so as he waited patiently for her to respond.</p>
<p>"Sir?"</p>
<p>She turned her head a fraction to acknowledge his presence behind her as she called back but not enough for him to see her face, hoping her voice wouldn't betray her and relay the emotion she was trying so hard to keep at bay.</p>
<p>He too paused for a few moments, Jack had never been good at comforting people, it was one of the <em>many </em>reasons behind his divorce and often attributed to the persona bestowed upon him of being a bit of an ass. He didn't know the ins and outs of what his Captain had gone through at the hands of Turghan and though he knew he'd find out the main details in her report when they returned home he wanted her to know that she could talk to him about it, that despite what people thought of him, and how he could sometimes come across, he cared, about her, about his team and he wouldn't, <em>didn't, </em>think any less of her or her ability because of what had happened on the planet.</p>
<p>Forming the right words was another thing Jack had never been good at however and after remaining silent for such a time that he was sure Carter must assume he had just gone back to sleep he finally spoke.</p>
<p>"You alright?"</p>
<p>He could practically hear the cogs turning in her head as she tried to formulate a response. It was his fault, they had gotten off on the wrong foot because of his own ignorance and as a result he had made her feel like she had to constantly prove herself or risk losing her place on his team. He was pissed at himself for his earlier actions which led to her now sitting alone, possibly crying, thinking she had to deal with what she had gone through alone because of the judgement she feared he would pass over her.</p>
<p>"Fine, Sir."</p>
<p>Her simple response came after a long pause and Jack knew by her tone that she was anything but. He sat up from his make shift bed on the ground with every intention of going over and striking up a conversation with his second in command but Sam abruptly stood from the log she had been sitting on before he had the chance.</p>
<p>"Cart-"</p>
<p>"I'm gonna do a sweep of the surrounding area, make sure none of Turghans men followed us out here."</p>
<p>She interrupted him and her words tumbled out quickly, it was a breath of a moment however before she looked back at him and finally met his eye. He caught sight of her tear tracked face and frowned, something she mistook as annoyance at her interruption and tacked a quiet '<em>Sir' </em>onto the end of her explanation before grabbing a torch from one of the pockets of her jacket and setting off into the trees with her gun poised in one hand should she come across any unwanted visitors.</p>
<p>Jack watched her go in silence, letting out a long sigh when she disappeared from view. He'd screwed up, big time and in that moment made a note to invite them all over once they were home so he could show them, show her, that they were a team now, a team he had no intention of disbanding anytime soon. Part of being a team, in his eyes anyway meant that they were all there for each other, professionally and personally.</p>
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